Exceptional inventors from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Morocco, the Netherlands, Spain, and the US receive European Inventor Award 2017 at ceremony in Venice

Outstanding
inventors from twelve countries took centre stage as the EPO unveiled the
winners of its European Inventor Award 2017 at a ceremony
today in Venice. Now in its 12th year, the award is presented
annually by the EPO to recognise outstanding inventors from Europe and around
the world who have made exceptional contributions to social development,
technological progress and economic growth.

The Galileo team

"These inventors have not only contributed to furthering technological
development, their patented inventions have had a major social and economic
impact, from life-saving medical advances and materials
to protect our environment to satellite navigation technologies that bring us closer
together," said EPO President Benoît
Battistelli at the award ceremony. "It
is especially fitting that this year's ceremony is held in Venice - a city with
a special place in the history of patents and innovation. This legacy lives on
today as witnessed in the group of winners selected from the fifteen finalists for
this year's award."

Some 600 guests from the areas of politics, business,
intellectual property, science and academia were in attendance at Venice's Arsenale di Venezia as the EPO
President, and Carlo Calenda, Italy's Minister of
Economic Development, opened the ceremony.

Jan van
den Boogaart and Oliver Hayden, winners in the Industry category, said: "We are
very proud and honoured." Asked about the invention, Jan van den Boogaart said:
"It's low-cost with accurate results, thanks to having a lot of data," adding
that "we hope to detect all diseases in future". His colleague Oliver Hayden
said that innovation is "an ongoing journey" and encouraged young scientists to
"never give up".

Research
category winner Laurent Lestarquit, said he was "proud of the teamwork, proud
of what we have achieved" and proud that "Europe has a better navigation system
than the American one," while ensuring that Galileo is compatible with GPS.
"When the nations of Europe work together, the whole world benefits," said
co-inventor José Ángel Ávila Rodríguez.

Oliver Hayden and Jan van den Boogaart

James
G. Fujimoto, Eric A. Swanson and Robert Huber said they were "very happy" and
"extremely grateful" to be named as winners in the category "Non-EPO
countries". Fujimoto praised the team, noting that many were graduate students
or at the start of their scientific careers, a fact he hopes is "encouraging"
for other young scientists. Swanson stressed the importance of patents, especially
in medical fields, where innovations take "such a long time to develop and
prove in medical trials". He also talked about the importance of
inter-disciplinary research, saying that "a lot of innovation happens at the
interface between fields."

Ernst Krendlinger,
Head of R&D at Deurex, and Steffen Remdt, Product Manager at Deurex,
accepted the SMEs award on behalf of winner Günter Hufschmid. "He always has
very good ideas. Some are crazy, but some are very good," said Krendlinger,
adding that luck also plays a role.

Accepting
the Popular Prize, winner Adnane Remmal said that nature was his inspiration:
"Sometimes in nature we have problems like infection. In nature we can also
find solutions. Everything is in nature; you just have to find it." He used the
opportunity to call for a ban on the use of antibiotics in animal feed "as
natural alternatives exist".

James G. Fujimoto

Rino
Rappuoli, winner in the category Lifetime achievement said that his idea was
the result of frustration: "I wanted to do something, but the technology
wouldn't allow me. I wanted to solve a problem... When the genome was
published, I thought this is the revolutionary technology." He talked about the
importance of his first patent - filed in the 1980s - for securing funding and
innovation.

About the
European Inventor Award

The European
Inventor Award, now in its 12th year, is one of Europe's most prestigious innovation prizes. Launched by the
European Patent Office (EPO) in 2006, the annual award distinguishes individual
inventors and teams of inventors whose pioneering inventions provide answers to
some of the biggest challenges of our times. To qualify for the award,
proposals have to meet specific criteria, including
that the inventor had to have been granted at least one European patent for
their invention by the EPO.

Ernst Krendlinger and Steffen Remdt representing Günter Hufschmid

The finalists and winners in five categories are
selected by an independent jury consisting of
international authorities in the fields of business, science, academia and
research, who examine the proposals in terms of their contribution towards
technical progress, social development, and wealth and job creation in Europe. This
year's 15 finalists were selected from more than 450 proposals - the highest number ever
put forward for the award. The winner of the Popular Prize is chosen from
among the 15 finalists by online voting in the run-up to the ceremony.